


Falling

by Fuoco



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 15:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4310526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fuoco/pseuds/Fuoco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a memory that might not be his, Leo twists his ankle on a hike. Jason Grace, then a stranger, becomes his crutch and audience all the way down the mountain.</p><p>For about an hour, Wilderness School doesn’t completely suck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Leo not talking much about his wilderness school memories.

+

His fingers are screaming as he tries not to die. To the left of him reality is torn apart by a living storm.

A goat-man comes to his rescue because nothing makes sense anymore. And it all could be funny except he watched Piper fall to her death and Jason jump right after her.

-

_In a memory that might not be his, Leo twists his ankle on a hike. Jason Grace, then a stranger, becomes his crutch and audience all the way down the mountain._

_For about an hour, Wilderness School doesn’t completely suck._

+

Things don’t get any more normal (as if they ever were for Leo) but they do get worse. Sometimes Piper cries a little for things that were never real and Jason always sleeps like he’s with strangers. Leo tells old jokes and listens to Festus’ gears click like a lullaby tapped on steel garage walls.

The garage burns, he meets his father, and the dragon is falling out of the sky.

-

_Leo isn’t 5 feet into the lake before he slips._

_It’s funnier if he’s not hurt so he pretends for a while, but Jason knows. On the bus Leo takes off his shirts and Jason sits close behind him – holding a cold pack in cloth to his swelling shoulder blade while they talk and joked and waited for the nurse._

_The cold pack melts quickly._

+

He almost cries when Festus wakes up. Jason is there for him when his knees give out. Leo tells the dragon all about the end of their adventure, babbling Spanish and tapping so rapidly in Morse his fingers go numb. To his surprise, Festus understands one of those languages and responds in kind, and Leo might go to dinner today just so he can sacrifice something good to his Dad for this one.

Suddenly Jason sweeps Leo into a hug and Leo can see that _Jason_ is teary eyed. And _smiling_. And their faces are _this_ close together.

Piper is back with sandwiches just in time to stop Leo from doing something stupid.

_-_

_Leo has never really hit on Piper._

_He does fall into her while he’s distracted by the scar on his friend’s lips. He definitely embarrasses himself when he flirts instead of apologizing. Piper ‘now’ probably would have laughed but back then she looks ready to hit him-_

_-but Jason distracts her with his scar._

+

Leo likes the nights when the ship is in the air. When everything else in the world is asleep and he and Jason are awake and on watch and alone.

He likes when Jason hovers around the deck, or when he stops to ask the same questions about the Argo, or when he sits opposite Leo and they play I-spy with constellations Jason spontaneously remembers- weapons at the ready in their laps.

He likes when they run into each other in the dining room in the middle of night and pretend its morning like it is back in the camp they barely had time to get used to and telling Jason new jokes even though he doesn’t know Leo’s old ones and laughing until Hazel (perfectly awake and unfortunately seasick) tells them to go to bed.

And sometimes the ship will keel sideways in the middle of an attack. Jason will run to Piper as Leo stumbles to the steering wheel and remembers that the world is ending.

-

_Leo’s roommate was kicked out, Jason moved in._

_Leo sets up cameras so they know when a counselors coming – built them in arts and crafts – and they listen to Jason’s music and watch comedies until they fall on the floor laughing. Its 2 am when Leo sees a counselor do rounds and Jason shuts it down. They’re left whispering in the dark._

_Jason talks about Piper a lot._

_They planned to build a mattress fort the next night, but Leo pretends he’s asleep at 11._

(Leo angrily realizes he cannot remember a single song.)

+

Leo sees Hera in a dream as the world gets close to ending, flickering weakly in her destabilized form. He feels brave.

Leo asked why the goddess hated him so damn much, because it’s a dream and he doesn’t know how to shut up.

 _‘To test you. And you proved yourself valuable.’_ The goddess answered, smiling like she was in the right. He hated her. He asks her about Jason. About his fucked up fake memories. Hera’s smile sets him stumbling.

_‘The daughter of Aphrodite is the love. You are the sacrifice, the broken heart. Preordained loyalties make playing your roles simpler. Adjust.’_

He knows he’s dreaming but Leo is desperate to breathe.

-

_Leo makes the big mistake. He leans in when Jason’s close. The stars were just bright enough above the Wilderness School for him to watch Jason’s laugh smolder down into a smile. And he moves in. He needs to. He forgets to close his eyes and watches Jason’s face shift to disgust as Leo backs up._

_Leo stumbles off the roof’s edge and is in the hospital for a week._

_Jason and Piper come to visit hand in hand. Jason doesn’t want to be there – Leo can tell._

_Once he’s healed Leo flirts with girls at the school until Jason can stand to be near him again._

+

The earth goddess roars in Festus’ claws and the air gets thin. Leo is sweating, actually sweating, in his effort to keep everything on fire.

He thought of everyone at camp, prayed a little to the gods that they survived, prayed a little to his father that this would work. He thought of Calypso, he thought of Jason.

Leo was dead.

And then he was on the island. Camp must have though he was dead.

It was better this way.  Hera meant for him to be dead, and the plan was playing out.

Calypso picked out Australia on their map.

-+

_He’s back in the bus by the lake. The nurse is late. Jason slides his hands down Leo’s bare arms and puts his lips against the back of Leo’s neck._

Leo kisses Calypso softly on the lips, and then lower.

_He’s back on the roof. Jason closes his eyes when they kiss and holds Leo’s arm. Leo’s heart beats fast._

Leo’s heart beats fast as Calypso pushes him back onto the bed. She climbs on top and kisses him deeply.

_He’s back in the bunker. Leo kisses Jason deeply, the grease from Argo II leaves handprints on Jason’s shirt that Leo likes._

Leo likes when Calypso twines their fingers together. Leo tries to ignore that her hands feel hotter than his own.

_He’s back on the Argo. Jason’s breath is frosty white as he twines his fingers together with Leo’s. They don’t kiss._

_They don’t need to._

+

Festus steams as he lands in the lake. Several campers fire arrows until someone stops them.

Calypso waves to the confused campers excitedly as Leo dismounts. She didn’t look anything like the stranded goddess from years ago. She gained floral tourist shirts, a favorite pair of sunglasses, and sunburn freckles from her travels with Leo. Festus’ crevices kept dozens of her cacti and tropical plants warm against the cold New York air.

“See you, Valdez.” Festus clicks the same in Morse.

“See ya.”

They both looked happy and beautiful. Leo felt happy too.

He watched them fly away before wading towards shore. The waters splashed as someone came to meet him.

Leo was glad he made it to the shallow end before he was tackled by several crying demigods. He would have died again otherwise.

 

-

_He sees Jason in his dream. Taller, impossibly. It isn’t the first time he’s done this since he ‘died’ – it is the first time Jason sees he’s there._

_‘I was thinking about you.’ Jason says._

_(Leo wakes up on the floor instead of his bed. His face goes red like he’s sixteen again.)_

+

They’re mad. Very mad. But Piper forgives him first. Leo and Piper talk about Hera and Wilderness camp for a while. They’re honest like they used to be and cry more than ever before. It turned out they were having opposite problems for a long time – Piper is almost mad again because Leo never _told_ her.

Reyna arrives and Piper puts an arm around her shoulder. They kiss. Leo smiles. Reyna says Hi and pushes him off the bench.

That’s all Reyna seemed to need to do before forgiving him.

-

_It’s a long time ago and Leo is in Jason’s nightmare. He watches the sky explode. The enemies fall back and the war is won but Leo Leo Leo **Leo**._

_Jason can’t hear him but they go to the Argo together. They sit on the deck on a peaceful night and map constellations._

_He stays asleep long enough to make sure Jason wakes up peaceful._

_+_

Reyna tells him Jason is flying in, literally, and would be by soon. Leo pretends he’s not nervous but Piper squeezes his hand anyways.

Somehow news got to Percy at the bottom of the sea and he came ashore just to give Leo a piece of his mind. He crawled out of the water covered in seaweed while Leo was sandcastling and Leo may have fallen back 5 feet.

Calypso sends him seashells with magic that morning. He rolls them around in one hand and builds a helicopter with the other.

-

_Leo begins the dream with a kiss. With Jason kissing him._

_Both of Jason’s hands are touching his face. Leo’s own hands are hot enough to burn something so he keeps them at his sides._

_‘Not real.’ Leo says so but knows it isn’t true because it feels different from anything Hera could fake or Leo could dream. Its better._

_‘See you soon.’_

+-+-+-+

Leo watches the sky from the early morning on, waiting for Jason. He builds Calypso something in return for the seashells, before realizing he had no way to send it. It disappears from his hands when he thinks about her – surprising to say the least.

A couple of the brightest stars still show up in the sky’s blue. No sign of Jason. Leo rests his head in his arms and closes his eyes for a moment.

_His fingers laced with someone else’s. Their hands are much colder, and Leo’s are so warm._

The sun rises warm. Leo’s learned to feel it.

_His eyes are wet. Someone wipes it away. He’s smiling and they are too._

The breeze reminds him of the Argo II. It’s enough to make him fall asleep.

_He’s kissed on cheek. The feeling buzzes for a long moment._

And Leo realizes it’s not a breeze at all.

++++++

Leo stands up too quick and flies forward. Jason catches him before he can fall.

In a quick selfish second Leo hugs Jason tight. He says several stupid things in quick succession before ‘I missed you’ finally comes out. When he finally backs up his face is completely wet, so is Jason’s shoulder. So is Jason’s face.

‘I missed you too.’ Is the first thing Jason says.

 Leo couldn’t stop from laughing. Jason joins in.

And then Jason kisses him.

And Leo is in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> If you didn't catch it  
> \+ are things that are really happening and  
> \- are things that aren't.


End file.
